TUI fly (Germany) (X3, Hannover) has announced in a press release that it will base two B787-8s out of Düsseldorf starting in the Winter 2020/21 season.
The German unit of TUI Group announced earlier that it will commence widebody operations with two B787-8s but did not disclose its operational plans.
According to the statement, the airline will initially connect the German hub with destinations in the Dominican Republic and Mexico. Details of the schedule are still being worked out with the launch of sales expected in the coming weeks.
"The launch of our Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights is getting closer, and of course there are important milestones on the way there - the announcement of our long-haul base is one of them. With the decision to base the Dreamliner in Düsseldorf, we are relying on the Rhein-Ruhr location and the good cooperation with the airport," Managing Director Oliver Lackmann said.
The carrier underlined that its flights to Mexico and the Dominican Republic will benefit from both TUI's extensive hotel portfolio in the region and the group's cruise business.
The German airline currently operates narrowbody aircraft, namely one B737-700 and twenty-eight B737-800s. As such, it is the only TUI Group carrier with no widebody aircraft. All other units - TUI fly (Belgium), TUI Airways, TUI fly (Netherlands), and TUI fly Nordic - operate B767-300(ER)s. All of them, except for the Nordic unit, also have B787-8s, while the British airline also has six B787-9s.
